


Breaking Point

by KROWRIM



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Advice, Bad Decisions, Depression, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 15:59:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15146672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KROWRIM/pseuds/KROWRIM
Summary: He could deal with the rumors. He could deal with the looks. He can deal with stealing hearts and fighting monsters. He can handle the injustice that sent him here.He couldn't handle losing a friend.





	Breaking Point

Everyone was quiet. No one said a word as they returned to reality. Morgana kept looking back at Akira with a worried look. The young teen would normally be the one leading the group to wherever it was they were heading. He would make snarky remarks and sassy comments. He would laugh and make jokes with the others. He would be holding Haru's hand as they happily walked together.

Now he was quiet. He stared at the ground and said nothing. Soon everyone grew worried. He's been down before but he would always be the one to jump back up and make things better. By now he would be back to his usual self and making sure everyone was doing ok. Not now. Now he was like a puppet being controlled by his own greif. No one knew what to do.

Eventually everyone returned to LeBlanc, scared of what would happen if they left Akira alone, and made themselves at home. Akechi's death effected all of them but different ways. No one knew what Akira knew about him. They only learned to hate him before feeling slight remorse in his final moments of life. Akira didn't see it like that. He lost a friend.

In the time he knew Akechi, Akira saw a boy much like himself. Someone who was dealt a shitty hand of cards. Akechi just didn't know how to play them like Akira did. He had chats with him that the team didn't k ow about. In times like those Akira didn't see the enemy. He saw himself.

Akira flinched slightly when he felt a hand on his own. He looked to see Haru sitting next to him on his bed while the others were on the couch or the chairs they brought up. Everyone was looking at him. They were looking at their leader who had helped them with their own problems and lead them into battle. They saw a man who had cheated death more times than they could count. They saw their friend.

Akira lowered his head once more. Akechi was dead. He was gone. There was nothing that would change that.

"Aki, are you ok?" Haru asked.

Her voice was soft yet had the slightest hint of fear. She was worried. They all were. They've never seen him like this. He was so, broken. So distrught. The faded bruises peaked out of his sleeve ever so slightly which reminded them of why they were here to begin with.

Akira gently pulled his hand away from Haru's which caused both her and Morgana to look at each other. Akira lifted his hand up to his head and shook it.

"I messed up."

Everyone's head popped up when he spoke. This was the first time he talked since they left the ship. He sighed and began to tap his foot.

"I messed up." He repeated.

Haru watched as he stood up and moved to his plant. Everyone watched as he forcefully grabbed the poor item.

"I FUCKED UP!"

Everyone flitched when he threw the plant down to the ground. Futaba moved closer to Makoto who held on to her. They were both scared. Everyone was. Morgana looked to Haru who looked at Akira. Her mind flashed back to Sugimura which caused her to push herself against the wall.

Akira yelled once more and turned towards the pop idol poster on his wall. He lifted his fist and punch a clean hole into it. He pulled his hand out and shook his head. Ryuji got up and moved to him. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude calm down!"

Akira instead grabbed his hand and threw it off.

"DON'T touch me." He commanded.

Ryuji took a step back as Akira walked past him. He stomped downstairs and ended up in the cafe. He stopped when he heard a pair of footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Haru, Morgana, and Makoto standing at the foot of the stairs.

"Akira, you need to calm down. We understand that your angry but you shouldn't be doing this." Makoto reasoned.

"What should I do then?! Just sit around until my problems are fixed? Akechi fucking died Makoto! He's dead!" Akira screamed.

He slammed his fist onto the counter and continued.

"What else am I supposed to do?! I just lost a friend and the only people I can talk to fucking hated him!"

Makoto took a large step towards him. She now had a determined look in her eyes dispite being terrified.

"He killed Haru's father and Futaba's mom. He framed us and tried to kill you." She pointed out.

"BECAUSE HE FUCKING HAD TO!"

Makoto flitched. Haru held Morgana tight as if he was her lifeline. Akira's hair was now a mess. He tried to fix it by running his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.

"He wasn't given a chance like we were. He was child and Shido used him. He didn't have a choice." Akira said.

He looked down at his hands. His right was bleeding from punching the wall and his other still had the bruises from the cuffs.

"If it was me, I might have done the same thing." He admitted.

Everyone's eyes widen. Akira closed his hands and looked up.

"If it was me who did all of those things, would you have hated me?" He asked.

No one answered. Akira gritted his teeth and looked away.

"That's what I thought."

He turned away and opened the door to leave.

"Where are you going?" Haru asked.

Akira stopped half way through the door. He shrugged and continued his way.

"Don't follow me." He mumbled loud enough for them to hear.

And just like that, he was gone. His mind was racing. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. He was mad. He felt guilty. He was sad. He felt responsible. He wanted to scream. He needed to lay down. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be stealing a six pack from the store. He shouldn't be running away. He shouldn't be drinking. He shouldn't be breaking into the school. He shouldn't be sitting on the school's roof. He shouldn't be on edge.

He shouldn't be on the subway to Shinjuku. He shouldn't be getting into a fight with a bouncer. He shouldn't be flirting with a prostitute. He shouldn't be beating up some guy who called the Phantom Thieves murderers. He shouldn't be passing out in a alley.

Yet, here he was.

When he woke up the next morning he found himself on a couch. It wasn't one he recognized. His head was spinning and he felt like he was going to throw up. He felt sick to his stomach. He tried to think back on what had happened the night before but found himself unable to.

"What the hell happened?" He asked himself.

"I found you passed out drunk in the alley by my bar." A voice answered.

Akira sat up quickly and regretted it. His stomach turned and his vision got blurry.

"Easy now. You're hung over dear. Here take this."

Akira looked up to see two hands in front of him. One held a cup of water and the other had some kind of pill. Akira didn't question it and took the pill before washing it down with some water.

"You ok hun?"

It was Lola. The Crossroads Bar owner. Akira's friend.

"No. I feel sick. What did I do last night? Why am I so sore?" He asked.

Lola laughed at herself.

"Well according to some of my costumers you got into a fight with the bouncer at Mizuno's and some random man in the street." She explained.

Akira rubbed his neck and Lola handed him a mirror. He looked at himself and saw that he had a black eye, a bruise on his cheek, and some dry blood under his nose. Akira sighed and shook his head.

"So why were you drinking and starting fights?" Lola asked.

Akira thought back and remembered what happened before he left LeBlanc. He felt a sting of regret in his gut.

"It's a long story." He simply said.

Lola took a seat next to him and smiled.

"We have time." She said.

Akira took a deep breath and began.

"I lost a friend last night. He was murdered."

Lola covered her mouth.

"Oh my. That's horrible."

Akira nodded.

"The sad thing about it is, I was the only one who cared about him. He was my friend and I'm pretty sure I was his only one. We were the same in a sense. He just didn't have the same chance I did. His dad abandoned him and his mom passed away at a young age. He was alone and someone took advantage of it. He did some terrible things but, I knew that he didn't want to. He was angry and he needed some way to deal with it." Akira explained.

He stopped for a moment to collect himself before continuing.

"I messed up and let him die. When I went back home my friends were with me and I lost it. They tried to get me to calm down but they didn't understand. They couldn't. They hated him but they also didn't know him like I did. I could tell that they were secretly glad that he was gone."

Akira lowered his head and covered his face. Lola rubbed her hand up and down his back in a attempt to comfort him.

"He's gone and it's my fault. I couldn't save him." He mumbled.

It was only then that he let his tears fall.  
\----  
It was around 2:30 when Akira returned to LeBlanc. Lola had bought him some new clothes and patched him up. She even let him use her shower. He thought about how he was going to apologise to everyone his entire way home. He looked at the group chat soon after he calmed down at Lola's to see everyone trying to reach him.

The group chat even had everyone reporting in at various locations looking for him. Akira didn't reply or even text to say that he was fine. He simply locked his phone and put it back in his pocket. He pulled the hood over his face even more.

He finally got to the cafe and entered to find Sojiro behind the counter and everyone sitting around. Everyone's eyes landed on him as the door closed behind him. Haru was the first one to stand up but Sojiro spoke up first.

"Where the hell have you been kid? And why do you look like you just got beat in a alley?" He asked.

Akira rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"It was a rough night. I ended up crashing at a friend's house." Akira half lied.

He noticed that everyone was keeping their distance. His eyes scanned the room before looking down.

"It was a really rough night. I got into two fights and I may have broken into the school at some point." He explained.

"May have?" Makoto asked.

Akira nodded.

"I don't entirely remember." He admitted.

Ryuji tilted his head.

"Did you also say you got into two fight?" He asked.

"Yeah. One with a bouncer and some dude."

Everyone looked confused. Glad he wasn't the only one. He didn't move from his spot.

"Look guys, I..." He hesitanted.

He took a deep breath and tried again.

"I'm... I'm really... I feel like I... Damnit! Why is this so hard?" He asked.

He looked at the floor and tapped his foot as he tried to find the words to say. Suddenly he felt a pair of arms wrapped around him. He looked up to see Haru hugging him.

"You shouldn't be apologising." She said.

Makoto stood up and so did Ann. Soon everyone was standing and looking at him.

"You were right to be mad last night." Makoto said shamefully.

"We always look to you to make us feel better or to solve the problems but we never even tried to help you with this." Ann explained.

"It's true. You have helped us get through our own problems along with others and not once asked for anything in return." Yusuke pointed out.

Futaba nodded. Ryuji sighed.

"Hell you even lead us through dungeons." He added.

Akira didn't say anything. He simply closed his eyes and hugged his girlfriend back. He buried his face into her hair and smiled. He let her go and she followed suit.

"I've decided on something today." He announced.

Everyone smiled when they saw the look on his face. 

"We're taking down Shido. For Akechi."


End file.
